ICARDA News

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN THE DRY AREAS
P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012
Fax: (963-21) 2213490, 2225105; E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG
10 April 2003
For more information contact:S.Varma@cgiar.org
DG Visits Japan to Renew Old Ties and
Forge New Collaboration
During his recent visit to Japan to participate in the Third World Water Forum (see The Week, No. 763), Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General, took the opportunity to visit some Japanese institutions to renew old ties and forge new ones.

JIRCAS
The Japanese International Research Center for Agricultural Services (JIRCAS), a premier research institution, based in Tsukuba, has been a long-standing partner of ICARDA in agricultural research. On the invitation of Dr Takahiro Inoue, President of JIRCAS, Prof. Dr El-Beltagy visited JIRCAS on 12 March 2003, with Prof. Shinobu Inanaga, Director of the Arid Land Research Center of Tottori University and a Member of ICARDA’s Board of Trustees.
    Prof. Dr El-Beltagy was received by President Dr Inoue, Vice-President Dr Yoshi Morooka, Executive Director Dr Akinori Koyama, and Director of Biological Resources Division Dr Ryoichi Ikeda. The DG made a formal presentation to JIRCAS scientists and management team on ICARDA research and training activities and reflected on current collaboration. He also visited several important laboratories and held discussions with scientists, including Dr Shinozaki, with whom ICARDA is collaborating on DREB genes to transform ICARDA mandate crops to enhance resistance/tolerance to abiotic stresses, such as drought and heat.
    To help expand collaboration with JIRCAS, it was agreed that the joint agreement signed several years ago would be revised. It was also agreed that JIRCAS would soon send Dr Masanori Inagaki, International Research Coordinator, to ICARDA to prepare a new joint project. Under this project, ICARDA will host Dr Inagaki for several years to implement the project in collaboration with plant breeders and molecular biologists in the Center’s Germplasm Program.
    Drs. Inoue and Morooka showed great interest in expanding collaboration with ICARDA in Central Asia. The DG invited them to visit ICARDA at the time of ICARDA’s Board Meeting in Tashkent, and the Center’s Presentation Day in Aleppo.

Ministry of Agriculture
On 13 March, the DG visited the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF),

Prof. El-Beltagy presents an ICARDA plaque to Dr J.A. Hans van Ginkel, Rector of UNU, as a souvenir to acknowledge the fruitful collaboration between UNU and ICARDA.
Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy (right), ICARDA DG, and Dr J.A. Hans van Ginkel, Rector of UNU, sign a "twinning agreement" for the establishment of a joint ICARDA-UNU platform for dry area agricultural research and human resource capacity building at ICARDA.
Prof. Shinobu Inanaga, Director of Arid Land Research Center of Tottori University and a Member of ICARDA’s Board of Trustees, gives a tour of research facilities at JIRCAS to Prof. Dr El-Beltagy.
accompanied by Prof. Shinobu Inanaga and Prof. Iwao Kobori, former Member of ICARDA’s Board of Trustees. They met with Mr Ichiro Ishikawa, Secretary-General of the Research Council Secretariat and Dr Junji Takahashi, Director of the International Research Division of MAFF, and three other officials. The DG briefed them on ICARDA's research accomplishments and collaboration with Japanese institutions. The ICARDA proposal for Rehabilitation of Agriculture in Afghanistan was also discussed and the ways in which MAFF could support this initiative were explored. The MAFF officials expressed their support for the continuation of the ICARDA project on "Improving Incomes of Small-Scale Producers in Low Rainfall Environments."

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Prof. Dr El-Beltagy, accompanied by Professors Iwao Kobori and Shinobu Inanaga, later visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), and was received by Mr Mitsuhiro Kohno, Deputy Director; Mr Takayuki Kitagawa, Assistant Director of Multilateral Cooperation Division; and Mr Kotaro Suzuki, Deputy Director, Middle-East Division of MOFA. The DG presented highlights of ICARDA's research and training activities in the dry areas and discussed the Japanese support to ICARDA within the framework of the CGIAR System. The proposal for rehabilitating agriculture in Afghanistan was also discussed. It was clear that under the current financial environment, the Japanese contribution to the CGIAR System would be sizably reduced, and, therefore, avenues were explored to minimize the negative impact of the funding reduction. The MOFA showed great interest in knowing more about the current state of establishment of research stations and laboratories in Afghanistan and identifying ways in which Japanese support could be mobilized.

Meeting with JICA
The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been a strong supporter of ICARDA through its Overseas Volunteers Program, Experts Program, and the Program for Third Country Training. The DG visited JICA headquarters in Tokyo on 14 March with Prof. Iwao Kobori. He was received by Mr Hisao Azuma, Senior Vice-President of JICA and Mr Hiroyuki Mori, Deputy Director, Middle East and Europe Division of JICA. JICA is in the process of revising its structure and protocols for deputing experts. The requests made by ICARDA for new volunteers and the progress in the JICA-supported training course on water management were reviewed and support for continuation of these programs was emphasized.

United Nations University
ICARDA has forged a productive partnership with the United Nations University (UNU) over the years, with strong support from Prof. Iwao Kobori. On the invitation of the UNU Rector, Dr J.A. Hans van Ginkel, Prof. El-Beltagy visited the University on 14 March. He presented the highlights of ICARDA's work in the dry areas to the faculty and management of UNU. Later he signed with the Rector of UNU a "Twinning Agreement" for the establishment of a joint ICARDA–UNU platform for dry area agricultural research and human resource capacity building at ICARDA. Under this agreement, a training and research program will be implemented through exchange of visiting scientists and post-doctoral fellows; development of joint research projects for seeking donor support; joint training programs; and joint research supervision of post-graduate students from Central and West Asia and North Africa.

ICARDA's (www.icarda.org) mission is to improve the welfare of people and alleviate poverty through research and training in dry areas of the developing world by increasing production, productivity, and nutritional quality of food, while preserving and enhancing the natural resource base. ICARDA is a Future Harvest Center.
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